#169 – Paul Niehaus on whether cash transfers cause economic growth, and keeping theft to acceptable levels

#169 – Paul Niehaus on whether cash transfers cause economic growth, and keeping theft to acceptable levels

"One of our earliest supporters and a dear friend of mine, Mark Lampert, once said to me, “The way I think about it is, imagine that this money were already in the hands of people living in poverty. If I could, would I want to tax it and then use it to finance other projects that I think would benefit them?”

I think that's an interesting thought experiment -- and a good one -- to say, “Are there cases in which I think that's justifiable?” — Paul Niehaus

In today’s episode, host Luisa Rodriguez interviews Paul Niehaus — co-founder of GiveDirectly — on the case for giving unconditional cash to the world's poorest households.

Links to learn more, summary and full transcript.

They cover:

  • The empirical evidence on whether giving cash directly can drive meaningful economic growth
  • How the impacts of GiveDirectly compare to USAID employment programmes
  • GiveDirectly vs GiveWell’s top-recommended charities
  • How long-term guaranteed income affects people's risk-taking and investments
  • Whether recipients prefer getting lump sums or monthly instalments
  • How GiveDirectly tackles cases of fraud and theft
  • The case for universal basic income, and GiveDirectly’s UBI studies in Kenya, Malawi, and Liberia
  • The political viability of UBI
  • Plenty more

Chapters:

  • Cold open (00:00:00)
  • Luisa’s intro (00:00:58)
  • The basic case for giving cash directly to the poor (00:03:28)
  • Comparing GiveDirectly to USAID programmes (00:15:42)
  • GiveDirectly vs GiveWell’s top-recommended charities (00:35:16)
  • Cash might be able to drive economic growth (00:41:59)
  • Fraud and theft of GiveDirectly funds (01:09:48)
  • Universal basic income studies (01:22:33)
  • Skyjo (01:44:43)


Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Dominic Armstrong and Milo McGuire
Additional content editing: Luisa Rodriguez and Katy Moore
Transcriptions: Katy Moore

Jaksot(333)

#124 – Karen Levy on fads and misaligned incentives in global development, and scaling deworming to reach hundreds of millions

#124 – Karen Levy on fads and misaligned incentives in global development, and scaling deworming to reach hundreds of millions

If someone said a global health and development programme was sustainable, participatory, and holistic, you'd have to guess that they were saying something positive. But according to today's guest Kar...

21 Maalis 20223h 9min

#123 – Samuel Charap on why Putin invaded Ukraine, the risk of escalation, and how to prevent disaster

#123 – Samuel Charap on why Putin invaded Ukraine, the risk of escalation, and how to prevent disaster

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is devastating the lives of Ukrainians, and so long as it continues there's a risk that the conflict could escalate to include other countries or the use of nuclear weapon...

14 Maalis 202259min

#122 – Michelle Hutchinson & Habiba Islam on balancing competing priorities and other themes from our 1-on-1 careers advising

#122 – Michelle Hutchinson & Habiba Islam on balancing competing priorities and other themes from our 1-on-1 careers advising

One of 80,000 Hours' main services is our free one-on-one careers advising, which we provide to around 1,000 people a year. Today we speak to two of our advisors, who have each spoken to hundreds of p...

9 Maalis 20221h 36min

Introducing 80k After Hours

Introducing 80k After Hours

Today we're launching a new podcast called 80k After Hours. Like this show it’ll mostly still explore the best ways to do good — and some episodes will be even more laser-focused on careers than mos...

1 Maalis 202213min

#121 – Matthew Yglesias on avoiding the pundit's fallacy and how much military intervention can be used for good

#121 – Matthew Yglesias on avoiding the pundit's fallacy and how much military intervention can be used for good

If you read polls saying that the public supports a carbon tax, should you believe them? According to today's guest — journalist and blogger Matthew Yglesias — it's complicated, but probably not. Link...

16 Helmi 20223h 4min

#120 – Audrey Tang on what we can learn from Taiwan’s experiments with how to do democracy

#120 – Audrey Tang on what we can learn from Taiwan’s experiments with how to do democracy

In 2014 Taiwan was rocked by mass protests against a proposed trade agreement with China that was about to be agreed without the usual Parliamentary hearings. Students invaded and took over the Parlia...

2 Helmi 20222h 5min

#43 Classic episode - Daniel Ellsberg on the institutional insanity that maintains nuclear doomsday machines

#43 Classic episode - Daniel Ellsberg on the institutional insanity that maintains nuclear doomsday machines

Rebroadcast: this episode was originally released in September 2018.In Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film Dr. Strangelove, the American president is informed that the Soviet Union has created a secret dete...

18 Tammi 20222h 35min

#35 Classic episode - Tara Mac Aulay on the audacity to fix the world without asking permission

#35 Classic episode - Tara Mac Aulay on the audacity to fix the world without asking permission

Rebroadcast: this episode was originally released in June 2018. How broken is the world? How inefficient is a typical organisation? Looking at Tara Mac Aulay’s life, the answer seems to be ‘very’. A...

10 Tammi 20221h 23min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-niinku-asia-on
rss-rahamania
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
kesken
psykologia
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-narsisti
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
rahapuhetta
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-uskonto-on-tylsaa
rss-duodecim-lehti